Scientists from the UK and Australia revealed that they have found a diamond from a dwarf planet on Earth.
Andy Tomkins, a geologist and professor at Monash University in Australia, found the strangely “bent” space rock when he was working on categorising meteorites, according to the co-author of the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Alan Salek.
Further investigation revealed that the part of the diamond was actually a rare hexagonal stone called lonsdaleite.
Lonsdaleite is believed to be produced under moderate pressure and high temperature. Scientists believed that it was replaced by a diamond when the planet’s temperature cooled.
In an article published by RMIT University, experts said they believe that a dwarf planet as small as an asteroid collided with the Earth over 4 billion years ago.
The collision gave birth to a unique hexagonal structure which makes it even harder than most diamonds on Earth. Our diamonds have a cubic structure.
Experts believe that the diamond is not a jewel but could actually b used to make tiny machine parts.
